I have a 1tb hdd and want to get a smaller capacity ssd so i can boot faster and stuff. Once i plug it in, can i clone the drive and format the hdd? or do i need to reinstall windows on the ssd?
The current clone/migration tools don't care about the physical drive sizes.Easiest method is a fresh Windows install on the SSD as you won't be able to clone a larger capacity drive to a smaller capacity one without shrinking partition(s), and even that may not sufficient.
Can i do it with a 120gb drive? I found one from an old pc.1. Get a 250GB drive or larger. There is not a huge price diff between 128 and 250GB.
And the better quality drives don't even come in 128GB size anymore.
2.
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Specific steps for a successful clone operation:
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Verify the actual used space on the current drive is significantly below the size of the new SSD
Download and install Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration, if a Samsung SSD)
Power off
Disconnect ALL drives except the current C and the new SSD
Power up
Run the Macrium Reflect (or Samsung Data Migration)
Select ALL the partitions on the existing C drive
Click the 'Clone' button
Wait until it is done
When it finishes, power off
Disconnect ALL drives except for the new SSD
This is to allow the system to try to boot from ONLY the SSD
Swap the SATA cables around so that the new drive is connected to the same SATA port as the old drive
Power up, and verify the BIOS boot order
If good, continue the power up
It should boot from the new drive, just like the old drive.
Maybe reboot a time or two, just to make sure.
If it works, and it should, all is good.
Later, reconnect the old drive and wipe all partitions on it.
This will probably require the commandline diskpart function, and the clean command.